This Month In… 2003

We hark back to 2003 in this edition, to 9 February and the first day of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 in South Africa, Kenya and Zimbabwe. It was a time when Australia were in their prime, conquering all before them, and it’s a state of affairs reflected in the rankings – among the top 10 in the one-day internationals rankings for batsmen, there were as many as four Australians.

Batsmen rankings – 9 February, 2003

Matthew Hayden led the charts. Into his 10th year since his debut in the format, Hayden was at the peak of his dominant powers, although he would not go on to have a particularly great World Cup, accumulating 328 runs in 11 matches, at an average of just 32.

Michael Bevan, at No.3, was the highest-placed Australian after him, and he lent solidity to the middle order in his five outings, scoring 148 runs at an average of 49.

Ricky Ponting, at No.6, was the next Australian in the top 10, and he would enjoy a terrific tournament – his 415 runs at 51.87 placing him third in the World Cup run-scoring chart, while his 140* in the final was enough to underscore Australia’s victory over India.

Adam Gilchrist followed shortly behind at No.7 in the rankings – he had a great World Cup as well, his 408 runs in 10 matches providing Australia with explosive starts time and again.

The Sri Lankan legend Sanath Jayasuriya was the highest-placed among the non-Australians at No.2 while Pakistan’s Mohammad Yousuf – then Yousuf Youhana – came next at No.4.

Virender Sehwag, at No. 5, was the only Indian in the mix, Jacques Kallis (South Africa) and Marcus Trescothick (England) were joint-eighth, with Windies’ Chris Gayle at 10th.

Fast-forward just over a month and a half, and it makes for interesting viewing. Australians still have four batsmen in the top ten, but Jayasuriya has climbed past Hayden and Sachin Tendulkar has come out of nowhere and leapfrogged them all to No. 2 in the rankings.

The Indian hero had an outstanding tournament, ending as the highest run-scorer, miles above team-mate Sourav Ganguly in second place. Tendulkar aggregated 673 runs in 11 matches, at an average of 61.18, including a high-score of 152 against Namibia. It remains the highest aggregate in a World Cup. Having begun the tournament in 11th spot, Tendulkar’s feats ensured a jump of nine places.

Batsmen rankings – 23 March, 2003

Jayasuriya remained the top-ranked batsman, his 321 runs in 10 matches at an average of 40.12 keeping him at the top.

As for the Australians, they occupied the spots from third to sixth – Hayden’s poor tournament, by his own lofty standards, meant he dropped two places. Bevan dropped a spot to fourth as well, while Ponting and Gilchrist moved up one slot to fifth and sixth respectively.

Herschelle Gibbs broke through into the top-ten after scoring 384 runs in just six matches. He could have possibly had more had South Africa qualified past the group stages, but a confused tie (on the DL method) against Sri Lanka in the final match ensured that wouldn’t progress.

Sri Lanka’s elegant stroke-maker Marvan Atapattu also made his way into the top 10 with his 382 runs helping his team make it to the semi-finals. Pakistan’s Yousuf had a poor tournament, managing just 170 in six matches, and dropped to ninth, while Ramnaresh Sarwan’s 209 runs in five matches for Windies, at a whopping 104.5, helped him move to 10th.

Similar trends were visible in the bowlers’ rankings as well, albeit to a much lesser degree. There were three Australians in the top 10 before the tournament began – Glenn McGrath (No. 3), Brett Lee (No. 5) and Jason Gillespie (No. 8) – and the three remained in the top 10 after the tournament as well.

Bowlers rankings – 9 February, 2003

Bowlers rankings – 23 March, 2003

In fact, the top four remained the same pre- and post-tournament. Shaun Pollock led the charts, even though he managed just eight wickets in six matches. Muttiah Muralitharan’s 17 wickets in 10 matches, which made him the sixth highest wicket-taker in the tournament, kept him in second spot, while McGrath’s 21 wickets in 11 and Makhaya Ntini’s 10 in six ensured they continued in third and fourth spots.

The big mover was Chaminda Vaas. He ended as the top wicket-taker in the tournament with 23 wickets in 10 matches, a feat that saw him jump from eighth to fifth spot, pushing Lee down to sixth. Lee claimed just a wicket fewer than Vaas – 22 in 10 matches – but it still proved insufficient to remain in the top five. However, his pace-bowling partner, Gillespie, managed to jump a place to eighth after picking up eight wickets in four matches.

All of Wasim Akram (No.6), Andy Caddick (No.7) and Harbhajan Singh (No.10) dropped out of the top 10 and were replaced by Javagal Srinath (No.8), Shane Bond (No.9) and Zaheer Khan (No.10). The Indian duo impressed at the World Cup, Srinath picking up 16 wickets in 11 matches and Zaheer returning 18 wickets in 11 matches. Bond, meanwhile, claimed 17 wickets in eight matches, finishing among the top five wicket-takers of the tournament.

Australia reigned supreme and retained the World Cup of course, much to the dismay of a spirited India side, who finished runners-up. Considering that, it was no surprise both sides were represented heavily in the rankings after the tournament.